What are the important events that happened on November 17? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
November 17: Facts & Myths About This Day
November 17 is the 322nd day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 44 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is November 4, 2024 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 481,056 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘trihectaicosadigon’ day.
Scorpio is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Topaz is the modern birthstone for this month. Pearl is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 73 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,349 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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November 17 Historical Events
- 473 –The future Leo II is named associate emperor by Leo I.
- 1810 –Sweden declares war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever takes place.
- 1855 –David Livingstone becomes the first European to see the Victoria Falls in what is now present-day Zambia-Zimbabwe.
- 1933 –United States recognizes Soviet Union.
- 1947 –American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th Century.
- 1968 –Viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States are denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBC broadcasts Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S.
- 1970 –Luna program: The Soviet Union lands Lunokhod 1 on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon. This is the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world and is released by the orbiting Luna 17 spacecraft.
- 1973 –Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, US President Richard Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors “I am not a crook”.
- 1989 –Cold War: Velvet Revolution begins: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague is quelled by riot police. This sparks an uprising aimed at overthrowing the communist government (it succeeds on December 29).
- 2000 –A catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, kills 7, and causes millions of SIT of damage. It is one of the worst catastrophes in Slovenia in the past 100 years.
Who were born on November 17?
- 1827 –Petko Slavejkov, Bulgarian writer (d. 1895)
- 1894 –Richard Nikolaus Graf Coudenhove-Kalergi, Austrian politician (d. 1972)
- 1895 –Gregorio López y Fuentes, Mexican author (d. 1966)
- 1905 –Queen Astrid of the Belgians (d. 1935)
- 1923 –Bert Sutcliffe, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2001)
- 1956 –Graham Jones, British author and psychologist
- 1964 –Mitch Williams, baseball player
- 1966 –Ben Allison, American jazz bassist and composer
- 1970 –Paul Allender, British guitarist (Cradle of Filth)
- 1983 –Nick Markakis, American baseball player
Who died on November 17?
- 1648 –Thomas Ford, English composer
- 1690 –Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier, French soldier (b. 1610)
- 1905 –Adolphe of Luxembourg, (b. 1817)
- 1940 –Raymond Pearl, American biologist (b. 1879)
- 1959 –Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer (b. 1887)
- 1961 –Michael Rockefeller, son of Governor Nelson Rockefeller; died on expedition to New Guinea (b. 1938)
- 1968 –Mervyn Peake, British writer (b. 1911)
- 2004 –Alexander Ragulin, Russian hockey player (b. 1941)
- 2006 –Bo Schembechler, American football coach (b. 1929)
- 2006 –Flo Sandon’s, Italian singer (b. 1924)
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